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www.greystar.co.nz
PHONE 769 7900
Dylan Cleaver
of the New Zealand Herald
Two grinning politicians from the
right side of the spectrum took their
seats at Eden Park on Saturday. John
Key and Tony Abbott had no idea that
were about to be subjected to a day of
left wing propaganda.
The Eden Park thriller on Saturday
saw two world-class southpaw seamers
producing high art with the ball.
Trent Boult knocked the guts out
of Australia’s dangerous middle order
before Mitchell Starc made merry in
the gloaming, ripping through New
Zealand’s tail and taking his side to the
brink of an improbable victory.
Nineteen wickets fell on Saturday, 14
fell to lefties, 11 to Boult and Starc.
Both gave vivid demonstrations of
how difficult it is to play left-arm swing
when delivered at 145kph. The angle of
the delivery and late, in-ducking swing
give the sense that a wicket could fall
with every delivery, which was the case
at times.
Starc clean bowled Ross Taylor, Grant
Elliott, Adam Milne and Tim Southee,
while Boult hit the stumps three times,
though he tried to downplay his efforts
after wards by saying he got a couple
of “lucky” drag-ons . Truth is, Glenn
Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh dragged
on because Boult was bowling good,
aggressive lines.
In the post-match wrap up, Australia
captain Michael Clarke was extremely
critical of the batting, mainly by his side
but there was a message in it for New
Zealand too.
He thought both teams had been
too aggressive and lacked defensive
fundamentals against the swinging ball.
Batsmen had become, perhaps, too
obsessed with the “power” side of the
game and not diligent enough when it
came to shot selection and defence.
There is a lot of merit to what he said.
Some of the shots that led to dismissals
yesterday were horrible, with Glenn
Maxwell and Corey Anderson taking
the gold and silver medals in a stacked
field.
But the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Starc,
Adam Milne, Tim Southee and even
Grant Elliott (who looked like he never
saw the ball), could be excused. When
you are a new batsman facing fast,
swinging, wicket-to-wicket bowling, if
it is not bowling you, you are probably a
leg before candidate.
In Starc’s case, it was not so long ago
that he was being looked upon as a
talent that may go unfulfilled. While
he is yet to prove himself a genuine test
threat, his one-day stats are impressive.
“ It ’s something I’ve worked really hard
at for a long time, coming off the IPL
last year when I dropped my arm a little
bit,” Starc said of an action that is nice
and high. “It’s something I’ve worked
hard on with (bowling coaches) Craig
McDermott and Troy Cooley up in
Brisbane and it ’s great to see it working
and being consistent.
“Something I feel really confident
in is my white ball bowling. With
white-ball cricket I know my game
plan and I’m pretty confident with how
I’m going. I feel really at home with
the white ball, like I really belong in
the white-ball team. My performances
in the last couple of months have
obviously helped.”
For Boult it was almost the opposite.
His red-ball credentials have never
been in question, but he had not played
enough one-day cricket to make a
sound judgement on his white-ball
qualities. He has dispelled most, if not
all, the doubts in one deadly five-over
spell.You could say it came out of left
field.
Wynne Gray
of the New Zealand Herald
The five-hour trip had a few
glitches for Lydia Ko before her
journey past huge galleries to an
18th hole coronation at the New
Zealand Open.
The world No 1 survived a few
mid-round tremors to steady
and add a second national crown
to her success last week at the
Australian Open.
“I ended up winning and that
was my goal at the start of the
day,” Ko said.
“I wanted to win in front of such
great crowds and I knew they were
supporting us. This is probably the
biggest crowd I have seen,” she
said.
Playing partner Giulia Sergas
had mentioned that huge 6417
final round crowd support to Ko
who replied, “It ’s home.”
She did not know if she would
return to defend her title again
next year, that would depend
on her tournament schedules.
When she played and finished
second last year, she flew in from
the Bahamas and was really tired
throughout and not ready to play
the following event.
Flying in from Australia this
time was easier and the trip
up to Singapore for her next
tournament was manageable. Ko
flew out last night and has three
events before the first major of the
season.
After the riches of her course
record 61, Ko began her final
round with a five shot lead and
stretched that with birdies on her
opening two holes. Most of the
final day crowd assumed that hot
start would translate into a stroll
to victory for the teenager.
There were some tremors when
Ko hit several wayward tee shots
but the brilliance of her recoveries
to save par steadied most
watching in the warm Canterbury
conditions. Normality looked to
have returned when Ko birdied
the 6th to be three under for her
round.
Then some gremlins appeared.
She pushed her second into the
water on the 8th then overshot the
9th green and failed to get up and
down. Three shots gone and while
playing partner Charley Hull also
had a bogey she was only just
adrift as they headed for the back
nine.
When Hull converted a rare
putt for an eagle on the 10th, the
squeeze became tighter but Ko’s
birdie response got her back in
sync. She added another at the
12th when Hull airmailed the
green and the margin was back
to five.
“Even at that time I just focused
on my game,” Ko said. “For me,
three shots went in two holes
and you never know in the wind,
just one loose shot can end up
penalizing you for a couple of
shots so I just tried to keep
focused.
“All I could do is hit good shots
and concentrate on my game and
if the other player plays better
than me then I can’t do much
about it. That ’s what I try to think
about.”
Serenity under fire has been a
hallmark of Ko’s game since she
stepped into the national limelight
and then produced similar
qualities on the international
circuits. She rose to world No 1
with a second place tie in Florida
in late January, followed that with
a tie for seventh in the Bahamas
and victory in the Australian and
NZ Open in successive weeks.
That success would be
remarkable for any seasoned golfer
but for a 17-year-old that success
is extraordinary. Ko’s ability to
shut out the world around her and
deliver in her arena is taking on an
uncommon hue.
Monday, March 2, 2015
All the latest
West Coast
news is now
available at
your fingertips,
no matter
where you are
in the world.
03 769 7900
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PICTURE: Getty Images
Lydia Ko with the NZ Golf Open trophy she won yesterday at the
Clearwater Golf Course in Christchurch.
PICTURE: Getty Images
Black Caps with the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after beating Australia at Eden
Park in Auckland.
The Black Caps and Australia are
a chance to meet at Eden Park once
again at the Cricket World Cup — in
the semi-finals.
Following Saturday ’s stunning one-
wicket win the Black Caps sit top of
pool A with four wins from four
games and guarantees New Zealand a
quarter-final in Wellington on
March 21.
A victory there and the Black Caps
will host a semi-final three days later
against possibly... Australia.
Australia’s defeat on Saturday leaves
the four-time champions fourth in pool
A with one win, a loss and a no result.
They face Afghanistan on Wednesday
before the match that could decide
their fate — the red-hot Sri Lankans.
Australia host Sri Lanka at the
Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday and
a defeat there will almost guarantee
Australia third spot in the group.
Sri Lanka post a real threat to
Australia after impressive outings from
their batsmen in the last two matches.
Kumar Sangakkara is currently the
leading run-scorer in the tournament
following a second straight ton against
England yesterday while teammate
Lahiru Thirimanne is the third highest
run-scorer.
Sri Lanka split a five-match ODI
series 2-2 in Australia in 2013 and won
their last encounter at the O val also in
2013.
If Australia trip up against Sri Lanka
and finish third — they will face the
second ranked team in pool B which is
looking likely to be South Africa.
A South Africa v Australia quarter-
final with the winner to face New
Zealand at Eden Park? Not as crazy as
it sounds.
Daniel Richardson
Auckland
English cricket captain Eoin
Morgan has not given a thought to an
early departure from the World Cup.
After being hammered by nine
wickets by Sri Lanka in Wellington
yesterday, the English have been
backed in to a dark corner in Pool A.
They’ve got two group games left —
against Bangladesh and Afghanistan
— a nd they ideally need to win both if
they want to advance to the knockout
stages.
England have been torched by
Australia, New Zealand and Sri
Lanka at this World Cup. Granted, all
those sides are ranked above them but
the games haven’t been close.
A loss to Bangladesh in Adelaide
next Monday could spell the end of
England’s World Cup. They will play
Afghanistan in Sydney on March 13.
“It ’s not even a thought at the
moment,” Morgan said of an early
exit. “(There’s) two games to win to
get us in to the quarter-final.”
On paper, England should have
too much for Bangladesh at the
Adelaide O val but the English must
have had their confidence knocked by
the manner in which they have been
beaten at this tournament. Their sole
win came against Scotland last week.
A handful of English players —
namely Gary Ballance and Steve Finn
—
are under pressure to retain their
places as they approach a pair of must-
win games but Morgan would not be
drawn on any potential changes.
“At the moment I haven’t really
thought about it,” Morgan said. “ We’ ll
have a couple of days in Adelaide
where we’ll do nothing and then wait
until the dust settles a bit; review the
game with the backroom staff and see
how we go for ward from here.”
After batting first and making 309-6
yesterday, England put themselves in
pole position courtesy of a fine 121
from Joe Root but their bowling and
fielding didn’t meet the mark.
“ We created a couple of chances,
which went down, which is always
disappointing because it hasn’t been
happening at training,” Morgan said.
If England’s bowling and fielding
was lacklustre then the Sri Lankan
run chase was at the other end of the
spectrum.
Opener Lahiru Thirimanne dropped
the anchor and made an unbeaten 139,
while the ageless Kumar Sangakkara,
in his 401st one-day international,
blasted a thrilling 117 not out.
The 25-year-old Thirimanne rode his
luck early and was also dropped on 98
but Sangakkara was nearly flawless as
he upped the tempo at the right time
as Sri Lanka knocked off the runs in
the 48th over.
Sri Lanka have a batting line-up to
match any side in the World Cup but
their bowling attack lacks a cutting
edge with seamer Lasith Malinga still
a yard away from top gear. — NZ ME
GOLF
NZ Open queen
CRICKET WORLD CUP
Lefties hit home
Black Caps, Australia could meet in semi-final
England captain not contemplating early exit from World Cup